Cadiz-Trigg County and Kentucky are celebrating the life and contributions of Smith Broadbent, III, who passed away Tuesday.
Smith served the farming and business community in many ways. He was a director and president of the Trigg County Farm Bureau. He served as a director of the Trigg County Farmers Bank for 43 years. Smith established and developed Broadbent Square, bringing important new businesses and employment to the county. When his wife Katie Broadbent decided to retire and sell Broadbent Foods and Gifts in 2019 she told the News Edge about the development of Broadbent Square.
click to download audioKatie Broadbent noted after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, they would often ride by Broadbent Square and reflect on the growth that has come to the community through his vision.
click to download audioThe Broadbent B & B country hams have gone on to win Grand Champion Honors at the Kentucky State Fair more than any other Kentucky ham producer. In support of the Ham Festival and to help gain publicity for the event, in 1985 he designed a 7,000-pound oven in order to cook the world’s largest country ham and biscuit.
Smith worked hard on his farm, maintaining and expanding a substantial grain, tobacco, and cattle operation. He loved every aspect of farming, especially his work developing a high-performing beef herd over the years. He attended the University of Kentucky and remained active with the Alumnae Association and College of Agriculture, serving as founding president of the very popular “Round-Up” event. He served on the first Board of Directors for the University of Kentucky Community College in Hopkinsville and was important in the early years of fundraising for the college in Trigg County.
Smith worked hard on his farm, maintaining and expanding a substantial grain, tobacco, and cattle operation. He loved every aspect of farming especially his work developing a high-performing beef herd over the years. He attended the University of Kentucky and in the Army, stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington.
He was a faithful member of Mt. Zion Methodist Church over the course of his lifetime.He was a member of the Eastern Dark Fired Tobacco Growers Association for 35 years where he was also a past president. He was a member of the Kentucky and Trigg County Young Farmers Association for 18 years where he also served as president of both those organizations. He was a founding member of Kentucky Maine Anjou and Simmental Associations, later he was the founding president of the Kentucky Beef Cattle Association, and the Kentucky Country Ham Producers Association. He began curing hams for retail in 1963.
He has been recognized many times over the years for his achievements. Some of them include: Commissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 1961, Trigg County Outstanding Young Man in 1967, Kentucky Outstanding Young Farmer Member of the Year in 1970, and in 1971 he was Cattleman of the Year for Kentucky and went on to become among the top 10 in the nation. He received the UK college of Agriculture Extension Leadership Award in 1977 and the Kentucky Farm Bureau Distinguished and Dedicated Service to KY Agriculture award which is a state recognition in 1985. He has been awarded the Spirit of the Ham Festival twice, he was inducted into the UK College of Agriculture Hall of Fame, and given the UK College of Agriculture Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2016 received the Trigg County Friend of Agriculture Award.
Funeral services for Broadbent will be held Tuesday, December 28, at Goodwin Funeral Home in Cadiz.
